Drake Maye was on his game Thursday night, and almost every New England Patriots skill position player benefited.
The Patriots quarterback completed 25 of 34 passes for 281 yards (six short of his career high) in a 27-14 win over the New York Jets and spread the wealth, completing at least three passes each to five different players.
Kyle Williams wasn’t on that list, however. Despite being on the field for 67 percent of New England’s offensive snaps while filling in for the injured Kayshon Boutte, the rookie wide receiver failed to record a catch on three targets.
While Williams still has room for improvement, his fellow rookie had a banner night, as TreVeyon Henderson scored all three of the Patriots’ touchdowns (two rushing; one receiving) while making some franchise history in the process.
Our Patriots insider Phil Perry highlighted several offensive standouts, Williams’ struggles and more in his “Stock Watch” report for Week 11:
Stock Up
Drake Maye, quarterback
Drake Maye put together another performance that made the “MVP!” chants feel warranted. He completed 25 of his 34 attempts for 281 yards and a touchdown … and the numbers should’ve been even better. Three passes that hit his receivers’ hands fell incomplete.
Maye was particularly good extending plays from within the pocket, hitting on chunk gains to Mack Hollins and Stefon Diggs while buying himself time behind center. — Perry
TreVeyon Henderson, running back
Don’t be misled by his 3.3 yards per carry average. The Patriots of course would love for the number to be higher. But Henderson ran hard, especially near the goal line, on his way to a 24-touch, 93-yard, three-touchdown performance.
Per NextGen Stats, he forced a career-high nine missed tackles in the game and created 70 yards after contact as a runner. — Perry
Stefon Diggs, wide receiver
The Jets opted to play their fair share of zone coverages against Drake Maye, and that allowed Stefon Diggs to feast. Finding soft spots in the Jets secondary, Diggs was open all game, catching nine of his 11 targets for 105 yards.
Against zone, per NextGen Stats, Diggs caught eight passes for 100 yards. A whopping seven of Diggs’ targets resulted in first downs. — Perry
Stock Down
Run defense
The Patriots allowed 5.0 yards per carry in this one, more than a full yard more than their season average. They also had particular difficulty against quarterback Justin Fields when he took off as a runner. Fields averaged 6.1 yards per carry and led the charge with five runs for 28 yards and a touchdown on New York’s opening drive.
The Patriots are set to see some athletic quarterbacks in the near future (notably Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson) so how they handle quarterback runs moving forward bears watching. — Perry
Craig Woodson, safety
Woodson has been especially durable over the course of his rookie season, playing nearly 100 percent of his team’s defensive snaps. Late in the third quarter, though, he tripped while in coverage on receiver John Metchie — the Patriots blitzed on the play, leaving Woodson in a 1-on-1 situation — and allowed an easy score. — Perry
Kyle Williams, wide receiver
The rookie third-rounder played the majority of offensive snaps for New England, yet wasn’t able to find his way into the box score. He was targeted three times and came up without a catch, signaling yet again that the connection between him and Drake Maye is lacking at the moment.
Williams did appear to beat Jets defenders down the field for a deep shot from Maye that hung up in the November air at Gillette Stadium. But his other targets fell incomplete, seemingly as a result of not being on the same page with his quarterback. — Perry
